Last Week in Twin Peaks Podcasts, Week of August 13th to August 19th

Part Fourteen knocked it out of the park. Very little disagreement out and about in podcast land. Even the most frustrated podcasts had to give Grace Zabriskie props on her performance. Most podcasts think Cole should’ve mentioned Janey-E by name when he called the FBI Vegas office, mentioned the international pilot being referenced in James’ last scene of the Part, thought Monica Bellucci as herself is SO funny, and most people understand that Andy was chosen because he’s a simple, good soul who believes in decency and dignity. I’m right there with them on all counts.

Onto the Podcasts:

EW’s A Twin Peaks Podcast: There will be a fan mail episode soon, so keep sending em in! Last week Franich and Jensen were in peak form, providing clarity and revelations left and right. Part 14 was harder to analyze, so this podcast episode is full of theories but nothing really grounded. They say they feel divested from theories actually, because there are so many variables, like timeline, location, dream state, reality, not even worth it, Jungian dream logic might be only worthwhile application. But they still give many theories following this statement. They start by talking about how packed Part 14 is with Lynchian moments. It was also like a compilation of different types of recap formats. This type of re-presentation of things we’ve previously seen leads us to look deeper and see things differently, often reveal more. Buckhorn/Cole and TP/Truman finally unified. If Twin Peaks is an allegory for America, does placing its first crime in Olympia, Washington, its capitol, mean anything? Tulpa…is this all a group dream? Some psychic event occurring between linked minds in Twin Peaks? Thoughts being made into reality would err on the religious side. Dern and Watts visited Lynch to implore him to make another movie a few years ago, could this have factored into their sisterhood? The podcasters take Diane’s statement at face value, but don’t understand where her not seeing Dougy’s resemblance to Coop could come in. Does the position of Bellucci’s fingers mean something? This is an Upanishads phrase Lynch has used many times, notably in introducing Inland Empire upon its release, and it’s misquoted here, likely on purpose, a technique Lynch has used before in the show. Is there a Jean Renoir or Wild Strawberries reference here? Is Cole accessing a suppressed memory in his dream? How has he forgotten this occurred? Is he dreaming someone else’s dream or memories? Albert says he’s beginning to remember it too…is this inception like the Tulpa where Albert suddenly thinks it happened too? Those who encounter Black Lodge energy feel as if coming out of a dream state, unsure of what happened, forgetting details, short term memory loss. Is this all collective recovery of memories or rebuilding memories or inception? Jack Rabbit’s Palace reminded them of Carcossa in True Detective. Naido skin appears to be growing over her eyes, are the holes her tearing through it? Andy’s reaction to Naido’s body is much stronger than his reaction to Laura’s in pilot. Is this the origin of a different kind of hero? SG’s note, combining this with the Dougie as a different kind of hero discussion, given we have only four episodes left and there is yet to be another kind of hero than this, it’s a major discussion. Is the Fireman Promethean? Giving fire and power to fight evil? What was the Fireman looking at offscreen? Freddie quoted The Beatles lyrics, and if he finished he would have said “and then somebody spoke and I entered a dream.” Roadhouse scene reminded them of Mulholland Drive diner scene, also this features more memories lost and found. Is Tina Audrey and Audrey is in Ghostwood Mental Hospital? This was like the episode in S2 when everyone’s hands started shaking. Is everything linked and breaking down? Is reality breaking and we’re all in Audrey’s head? (Sean Glass)

Bickering Peaks were wowed by Part 14, aligning it with Part 8 with regard to the quantity of awesomesauce. They feel Andy’s role was surprising but that it felt right and are delighted that he has been elevated (literally and figuratively!) There’s a little light bickering about what the criteria for blue rose cases are, suspicion of Diane’s story about Las Vegas, and lots of love for Stan from Mad Men at the FBI Las Vegas office. They single out the narration aspect of the Bellucci dream as being unusual for Twin Peaks and for Lynch, get lost inside the Inception-level dreamscape of Cole, and make a decent stab at explaining it all – unless I dreamed that. They note the unusualness of not informing Chad of the charges against him when he’s arrested, suggesting that it is to purposefully obfuscate the timeline in Twin Peaks, given that we’re really not sure what plot points and scenes go where anymore. They note the similarity of Jack Rabbits’ Palace to the castle in the purple world, and ponder on the inversion of the walking order of the Sheriffs team, suspecting those old multiple realities are at work again. There is some debate on universes converging sparked by the return of the Sheriffs troop to Jack Rabbits’ Palace, and Lindsay sees it as hard evidence of multiple timelines. There’s quite a bit of bickering over whether drooly man is Billy, or whether Naido sounds like a monkey or a bird (It’s both clearly guys). They think Freddie sounds like he is from Victorian London, and are worried for James in the basement. They fully support Sarah Palmer biting off the creepy truckers neck, embracing her inner dark power and counterbalancing the evil that men do. They debate whether Sarah has mother/the experiment inside her, or this just represents the darkness that her life has led her to. They do agree that Sarah isn’t evil, but something much more complicated. Also, their cat was stung by a wasp. It’s fine though. (Matt Armitage)

Boob Tube Buddies covered Parts Twelve through Fourteen in three separate podcasts. In Part Twelve, they go through standard plot elements and discuss the anti-fan service that is Audrey’s introduction before going to their Player Three segment. Grace Zabriskie is underused, and the fan is a psychological trigger of how Leland covered his noises. Also in the grocery store: a young blonde girl at the register who’s “room” looks different now with the turkey jerky. And the Audrey scene is the stretching warm up before a run. The sheriff is the only missing character not mentioned in past tense. They hope for a cameo by Ontkean. In Part Thirteen, they’re sure rings transport people but not of much else. The death tarot is discussed in the player three segment. If you can break through the card all is good, but you can get stuck like Ed. DoppelCooper can control his strength and does everything on purpose. The characters around Dougie imbue him with way more than he’s actually doing. And in Part Fourteen, the pacing is what the hosts wish The Return always was. They picked up on the international pilot basement similarities, and credit Andy’s purity and empathy for why he was chosen. Is the removal of Sarah’s face literal or metaphorical? Buddhism is Hinduism and there’s lots of conversation about tulpas. They note how it’s actually a really simple story with Cooper and DoppelCooper, but then things like Diane and Janey-E keep recontextualizing around it to keep things interesting. The hosts finish by talking Freddy’s superhero influence and wonder if there’s a war going on with the lodge folks and we’re getting pulled into it.

Bookhouse Podcast covered Parts Twelve Through Fourteen in three separate podcasts, and in each of them they open with their not-very successful predictions tally. In Part Twelve, the FBI scenes are gold and the hosts aren’t sure about much else. The blue rose background info seems redundant with Secret History of Twin Peaks but they understand why it’s included. They call out Sarah’s vodka preferences, the host thinks the grocery store clerk has a resemblance to Laura, and they wonder if Sarah’s the female Bob or if there’s a frog/locust issue. They loved Gordon’s turnip joke, and think Lynch and Frost are trolling us with Audrey’s introduction which is an intentional down note done TO us rather than FOR us. They wish they knew what was at stake for DoppelCooper getting those coordinates. In Part Thirteen, the hosts thought it was still frustrating but an uptick from the last Part. Tom Sizemore has off the charts humor, time issues are pointed out, and they wonder if Richard Horne is in Montana before or after all his Twin Peaks scenes. Maybe Cooper won’t be our Cooper in Part Sixteen, and we were bait and switched with Ed and Norma. In current day everyone in Twin Peaks is still with the wrong person. The hosts were most attentive during the check-in scene with Sarah. The hosts are sure that Charlie IS looking after Audrey but aren’t sure of much else, and are intrigued this time. They also hear the sound of woodsmen movement at the Gas Farm while we watch Big Ed eat his soup. They call Part Fourteen a weird episode and also revelation after revelation. They’re surprised by the random placement of Chad’s arrest, and they’re not sure why Andy was picked to talk to the Fireman, but they thought the jail scene between the cops, Naido, Chad and Drunk was laugh out loud hysterical. Loved the James/Freddy scene and didn’t recognize James right away, and the Sarah/Trucker scene was the best of the series so far. They noted there’s more uncle imagery as well, though don’t know what to make of it. One of their listeners mentioned they’d wish for other directorial voices to enter the show just like the original series that way the genius of Lynch is more pronounced, and used sparingly to give us a pacing break.

The Brad Dukes Show covered Parts Thirteen and Fourteen in two separate podcasts with 2017 Twin Peaks Fest attendees. Part Thirteen had on guest Morgan Chosnick, who has an interview series with Dean Hurley during her radio shows on the local Seattle radio station. They think Janey-E is the protecting guardian angel of Dougie, and DoppelCooper is Brad’s north star and the only character who seems to know what’s going on. Is Anthony now protected by Dougie? They have no sympathy for Ed and Norma. An interview with Chrysta Bell revealed she was not getting active direction in most of her scenes and she was playing off Lynch as best as she could without much help, so it’s not her fault as much as it was her being cast as she was. This gets them bringing up Annette McCarthy and John Pirruccello being awesome people despite their characters. Sarah is a medium trying to suppress the messages, Audrey is possibly admitting schizophrenia, and the James roadhouse scene keeps the soap opera vibe alive. Part Fourteen had on guest Jessica Dukes, who now cares where this show is going. This part also softened Brad’s take on Part Eight. Besides Bobby and Sarah there’s an absence of characters for the hosts to care about, though Cole’s working okay and Dougie’s simplistic soul’s grown on Jessica. Janey-E’s reveal was right there and it still floored them. They loved the Jackrabbits Palace scene and it invoked the walk to Jaques’ Cabin for the hosts. The timeline is finally being revealed, they were surprised by Andy being picked, and noted the comedy was good throughout and provided balance. The Sarah scene was also unexpected, and INTENSE. They talk about how the roadhouse songs are a good way to ground us after a complicated hour.

Chopping Wood Inside put out two podcasts this week about Part Fourteen, a Preview and a Hot Take. In the Preview, the hosts begin by talking about Mobius Strip time issues that are under the surface and possibly over the surface as well. They’re sure Jackrabbits Palace will happen, talk about the Hindu basis of the Dreamer and suppose it’s Cooper or Laura, and they assume the merging of Cooper and DoppelCooper will be internal rather than physical, though if they arm wrestle it’ll be a standstill. They ask if Audrey’s scenes are in the future or the past, refer to Rita in Mulholland Drive also saying “I don’t know who I am,” and suggest Audrey could be in her Oz. The multiple 253’s are discussed again, a bible passage from Genesis is connected to Eraserhead and maybe a 430-year exile will be connect to the (Giant’s) Fireman’s 430. That may or may not be an answer but is curious if Cooper needs a spiritual cleansing to move forward. They suggest the return of owl imagery, that Diane and Cole will talk about “that night”, and that Jeffries might be in nowhere, living literally in the dream. In the Hot Take, the hosts wonder if Diane’s affirmative mention of Major Briggs means this was about the creation of Dougie, and it seems like Diane genuinely cares about Cooper. They liked the quick-resolve of Chad’s arrest, think Naido’s return is a GREAT development, and note that in Andy’s clips show the telephone pole begins in black and white and ends in color. Is Naido making monkey sounds and therefore linking to Judy and the FWWM monkey? Are Chad, Naido and the Drunk in cages like birds? The furnace room is like the basement in the international pilot, and Sarah was perhaps being a seer when she said “I’ll eat you” to that ass hat trucker. The smile inside Sarah’s face looks like Bob’s, and the hosts wonder if Experiment is inside her. They thought she’d be a redemption story in the return but what about this? Unexpected and tragic. The two girls in the roadhouse may become a theory for the hosts but not quite yet. The Part feels like the first part of the final act as things are converging. It was compelling without Cooper OR DoppelCooper, a feat.

The Damn Fine Podcast crew, hosts Ron Richards and Tom Merrit, expressed how much they liked Part 14 in their coverage, starting by making note of how much Twin Peaks we actually saw this week, kicking off with Gordon Cole and Lucy’s nostalgia-fueled interaction. The absurd amount of high-tech gear the FBI team brought to Buckhorn draw their attention, as well as Cole’s reaction to the window cleaner who according to them moved like a weird trash hobo. They analyze Diane’s revelation about her connection to Janey-E, trying to figure out if she’s saying the truth or not. This particular piece of information strikes them as confirmation that the running theory that Dougie is living in an alternate timeline is not really plausible. Discussing Andy’s experience with the Fireman, they acknowledge that while pure of heart, he was not who they thought could be the one chosen to receive all that information. They also make of note of two particular shots that haven’t appeared in any episode yet: the station’s blinking phone followed by Lucy and Andy entering what appears to be some room in the sheriff’s station. While discussing the drunk man in the jail cell, Tom says that closed captions informed that the liquid coming out of his mouth was indeed blood, which indicates that this man could be Billy. They talk about Freddie and discuss how Lynch & Frost managed to make a story about purchasing a glove so compelling. Rob believes that BOB was the entity possessing Sarah. Tina’s daughter’s account of the night Billy disappeared makes the hosts certain that Audrey was not in a coma or in a dream sequence, as some theories have been speculating. They close their coverage predicting a Vegas showdown between Dougie, Mr C. and the FBI, and reading listener’s messages. (Maicon Firmiano)

Dark Mood Woods covered Part Thirteen with guest John Semley, whose expectations were exceeded though he tried to have none. Time is not in sync and the hosts think it may converge on Vegas rather than Twin Peaks. Before The Return is over, they expect a few major plots to be resolved, but most like the James subplot will likely not be. The guest wants mysteries to be solved but the wonder to remain (which is switching out Secret History’s Secrets and mysteries for his words mystery and wonder, but I like what he did with the words he did use. The spirit of the statement is still accurate). Anthony’s confession breakdown moved the hosts. Mr. Todd’s the wild card. The hosts find it silly how people wonder if insurance industry scenes are a reference to Mad Men and any other references considered. Themes and modes are what scenes shift for rather than temporality. Twin Peaks invites unselfconscious fanaticism and it’s so wonderful the show rewards this sort of behavior. (John Bernardy) Dark Mood Woods is a brand new podcast to me but I’m so glad I found it! Insightful commentary and as a film studies student it’s a really satisfying listen. This week’s guest, film critic, Mallory Andrews is a “newish Twin Peaks fan”. She thinks The Return is a “high masterpiece” and doesn’t care how it ends – she’s just enjoying the ride and rates it as her favourite work of Lynch’s. Ethan posited a theory of the structure of the show so far that there are crowdpleasing episodes, followed by expository episodes, followed by violent episodes. Feels this is crowdpleasing: surrealism, humour, plot advancement and no real upsetting violence. Mallory agreed about the crowdpleasing episodes and suggested that there are elements in these that are a payoff for fans of the original (such as Andy being sucked into ‘The Palace’), which hold more significance for fans of the show. The team discussed the ways in which real life is intersecting with the world of Twin Peaks, such as Monica Bellucci appearing in Gordon Cole’s dream sequence and the musical performances – particularly “The” Nine Inch Nails. This seems strange, particularly compared to the original series where there was no culture that existed outside the town of Twin Peaks. There was discussion around the fact that Part 14 is the only one so far to directly callback to Part 8, with the Fireman and the use of black and white, not to mention the “Gotta Light?”. Mallory found the Sarah Palmer scene to be her favourite scene in Part 14 and argued (as many have this week) that the outcome of the scene is the fantasy of every woman being harassed in a bar. Nick felt that this scene was the narrative sister of Part 8 and that it was perhaps implicit confirmation that Sarah was the girl in Part 8. Mallory suggested that it was either that literal possession, or a metaphorical one, with Sarah hollowed out from the inside leaving a shell of a human being behind. The team spoke about how effectively dread was built in this part, not just in the Sarah scene but also in the booth scene at the end with the use of sound to build tension. The team was undecided on whether this scene refutes the “Audrey’s in a coma” theory or not. (Yvette Giles)

The Diane team thought Part 14 was a wonderful combination of Lynchian imagery and Frostian storytelling – a great big download of weirdness. There is talk on the subject of the Twin Peaks world having a deep split or separation, and Laura possibly being the one to bring unity again. They move onto talk tulpas, what they are, how they are created, how this could tie into Mr. C – his relationship to Cooper and his own quest for freedom. Nobody is sure why Diane doesn’t know what Dougie looks like. They talk a little about the Upanishads which is where the “We are like the dreamer..” line comes from, then ponder Jefferies, dreams and Bishop Berkley (father of subjective idealism). They see the marriage of electricity and wood in Twin Peaks as an alchemical conjunction and similarities between Jack Rabbits Palace and the castle in Part 8, linking the white lodge with the woods. Rosie see links between the ‘Green children of Woolpit’ story and Naidos appearance. Andy is pronounced perfect for the job of weirdness reporter in his role as ‘the fool’ or blank slate, and they wonder what he was pictured showing Lucy. They think the drooly man in the sheriff’s cell might be the infamous Billy, and Rosie has a mad theory about Waldo. There is amusement regarding Freddie Sykes of olde London town and his magic glove, a brief chat about Doom Patrol and how well Freddie would fit in. Rosie feels vindicated as Sarah shows her inner Baba Yaga, and they talk about similarities between Sarah and Laura, and the notion that a reuniting of the two would be a beautiful end to the show. As ever, there is a lot going on in this podcast, all of it good. (Matt Armitage)

Dishin’ The Percolator covered Parts Eleven through Thirteen in a single podcast with third host Jon Lorentz. They start out by saying the show’s overarching mystery is “What is going on?” and it’s tough to deal with. Sean loves The Return more than the other guys and leads most of the discussions. They talk the Gordon vortex scene (remembering the David Lynch clip at the very end of the Michael Horse teaser being from here), and how people seem to not be capable of remembering the woodsmen. Dallas brings up a podcast called The Watch where Matthew Lillard guested and spoke about his Twin Peaks experience. Then he shares how the Nadine/Jocoby and Ben Horne stuff probably won’t come together by the end of Part Eighteen. Jon said the stuff we viewers needed in Part Three is what we’re only getting now right before the end. Having other writer and director voices in the room is what made it connect with us the way it did. Even when these hosts are complaining about the way The Return chooses to do what it does, they’re making jokes and mostly laughing their way through a less than ideal situation. It’s always good natured, and not about fighting the other opinions. They want to get along as well as express opinions, and this is a good role model for other shows that you can be critical of the return without going negative yourself and that makes your listener have a better experience. For example, when Bob crawled over that couch it was to unplug James’ guitar (rather than incredulously attack fans who actually like the James song). They direct their frustrations positively most of the time. They talk about the Audrey scenes and assume head injury is likely, think the Bobby/Shelly/Becky diner scene is something we can go somewhere with, and the ratcheting of intensity has to be a sign of something bigger coming. Something is happening with time, the Roadhouse songs is a device, and what lengths CAN’T DoppelCooper go to? Callas loved the French Girl scene. It used to feel like Gordon was ahead of us but now he’s behind us. The Return feels far away from that place we knew about in the original series.

Drink Full and Descend began their Part Fourteen coverage by saying a lot can happen in an hour and they loved how this Part kicked them in the face. They talk about Tulpas and say Douige CAN be a tulpa, and they talk how they can be different from Doppelgangers. The hosts discuss how the FBI scenes are all about what do you say when exactly who is around and how it changes from, say, Diane’s inclusion in the mix, or Cole telling the Vegas FBI that Dougie could be considered armed and dangerous. Dream in a dream in a dream is a vortex all by itself, and Jeffries (in Cole’s Bellucci dream) is saying “if you can see the whole timeline you’ll know where Cooper is going to go.” They wonder if the Jackrabbits Palace log is, per Secret History, the same tree where Margaret’s log came from. Andy’s insight and simplicity is a good reason for his being chosen by the Fireman. They ask “What DID happen to Billy?” They note James’ birthday being in January on his original trading card, so is this James/Freddy scene from much earlier or has James’ birthday been moved? It’s probably “don’t worry too much about dates and times) but a continuity error actually matters in this case. They connect Freddy and his dream glove to Nightmare on Elm Street, catch Freddy’s dialogue straight from A Day In The Life, and wonder how much Sarah was aware of her possibly other personality killing that trucker. They ask why Uncle relations keep popping up, and talk through memory issues that are also cropping up with everyone.

Endgame Podcasts covered Parts Twelve and Thirteen in separate podcasts. In Part Twelve the hosts discuss Diane’s constant level of mysteriousness while the FBI uses her in a sting as well as needing her expertise in their investigation. The host is pro-Tammy and strangely invested in a Tammy/Gordon relationship. Sarah’s devastation is powerful and they assume she’s also spouting prophecy in the grocery store. The Men Coming are most likely FBI or woodsmen. Carl and Sarah are introducing new things to the show so far near the end…it’ll end up leaving all sorts of Chekov’s guns around at the end. We may have seen the last of Jerry. Carl’s a Good Guy looking after Good Guys. The hosts don’t think Cooper’s coming back, based on MacLachlan answering a question once that there will “be closure in a way.” They hope Harry will be addressed and that we hopefully get an appearance. The womanizers of OG Twin Peaks are allowed redemption (looking at Ben and Bobby in particular), Jacoby leans left politically yet sells shovels, electricity is discussed, and Audrey’s weirdness is perfect for anything EXCEPT a big reveal. Lynch’s grotesquery fetish is seen in Charley’s casting, there are so many new names mentioned just to mess with us, and the hosts thought we were past this part of the exposition phase. They think Diane’s indoor smoking implies privilege and they missed her co-or-din-ates-plus-two memory trick entirely. In Part Thirteen, the hosts get a polyamorous family vibe from the Mitchums and the pink girls but Dougie sure looks happy in that Conga line. They speculate on Dougie and Janey-E’s relationship previous to the Return, notice DoppelCooper’s dark dirty hands, and discuss whether Jeffries will or won’t appear on-screen. They also discuss the ring and call the Black Lodge a place where the bad guys hang out rather than a place where the good are tortured. And they think we could see Ray again based on his fate. Are the Fuscos a foil for the pink ladies? Norma’s pie ingredients are a metaphor for Lynch vs. the Hollywood system most likely. They’re pro-Nadine and Jacoby, and they found a framed picture of an owl in the Audrey scene. Is Charlie a creation barrier in her coma, or is he a guide taking her slowly but surely to reason?

Fire Talk with Me hosts Allie and Jeremy give praise to episode 14 in their recap, calling it a “needed release” after a weekend of disturbing (nazi) news in the states. What really excited Allie was the reveal of the Janey-E/Diane connection. Both hosts repeatedly express delight in having pieces of the return begin to coalesce, and Allie finds Diane’s relation to Janey-E particularly exciting because she considers them the two strongest new characters in the Twin Peaks universe. The Las Vegas FBI phone call aptly reminds Jeremy of Crispin Glover’s Wild at Heart scene in which he yells frantically about his lunch. The hosts note that the scene’s comedy also comes from Lynch’s editing, where some scenes are drawn on while others are cut abruptly, both with comedic effect. They also laud Bowie’s FWWM scene, however, they curiously don’t mention the Bowie voiceover that confused many fans. Jeremy does point out, thanks to help from a tweet, that Lynch’s dream sequence can be seen written out in the documentary The Art Life. Allie is also insightful during this recap, noting that the “experiment” (which Andy sees while in the Zone) and the creepy smile behind (or inside of?) Sarah Palmer’s face are based off of older Lynch artwork. Also, Allie hypothesizes that 430, the number the Giant/Fireman tells Cooper to remember in episode 1, could stand for 430 Hz–possibly the frequency of the sound that seems to be seeping out of the town of Twin Peaks and they key to snapping our Cooper back into consciousness. Finally, Jeremy guesses episode 15 will start with Mr. C while Allie’s money is on Janey-E and Dougie. (Kimberly Shotick)

In The Gifted and the Damned, hosts Bubba and Mork began by discussing the episode’s big moments, especially Sarah Palmer’s night out, which according to them could be played in AA meetings as a cautionary tale. Bubba wonders why plot points such as the Billy mystery and Roadhouse’s cryptic conversations are given so much screen time while the original run’s characters like Catherine Martell and Josie Packard are nowhere to be seen, citing Lynch & Frost’s justifications that there was no way of including them. On the FBI team sequence, they make note of how the phone calls made by Gordon Cole seem to connect Buckhorn to Twin Peaks and Las Vegas, and debate why Albert and Gordon didn’t seem to remember some of their interaction with the long lost Phillip Jeffries. They complain about Chad’s arrest, which according to them lacked in buildup and ask each whether he will have any significance in episodes to follow or not. Talking about Naido and Sheriff Truman’s team encounter in the woods they make note of the connection between Major Briggs’ map and the purple room (the 2:53 minute mark) and consider how or why Naido can appear physically in the real world, while other entities like BOB never did so without a host. They discuss Freddie’s superstrength (which reminds them of Nadine) and the noise that James hears, which is similar to the one heard by Ben Horne and Beverly. Coming back to Sarah’s big scene, the hand shown beneath her face draws their attention, as the ring finger seems to be deformed (an owl ring bearer?) and they discuss the implications of this revelation. They close the episode talking about Tina’s daughter and her friend catching up at the Roadhouse, how her description of Billy matches up with the drunk man in the sheriff station, and how the hosts prefer the Chromatics over Lissie. (Maicon Firmiano)

I’m Worried About Coop covered Parts Twelve through Fourteen in separate podcasts. Part Twelve began with the discussion of scene placement in the Return, settling on how during filming there was very little intention of putting the scenes where they ended up. They also noted no less than nine new characters mentioned between the Audrey and Roadhouse scenes. Things are supposed to be coming together, so the hosts wonder if Lynch is trolling us. Though they also go off on comments who try to second guess what Lynch is actually thinking when he makes his choices. They guess Sarah is channelling someone/thing, Diane is a mole, the Great Northern room key may actually unlock something whether literal or metaphorical. In Part Thirteen, they started out talking beercades and announed their next show coverage after Twin Peaks will be Mr. Robot. They rolled their eyes at the beginning but by the middle they were WON OVER. There has to be a moment when losing Bob means something to DoppelCooper, the overacting from Sizemore, Knepper and Belushi works perfectly, Dougie’s probably here for the long haul and so is Big Ed’d awesome 20s hair and everyone’s locked-in patterns. Audrey’s 40s-50s room style matches up with the white lodge scenes, and you could tell a really good haunted house story with just Sarah. Lynch and Frost and James Marshall all know how fandom feels about that song and they’re all about messing with us. In Part Fourteen, the hosts bring up a three-part Twin Peaks skit the WWE has put lovingly into their shows recently, before going into why Bell as Tammy is a huge casting mistake that’s not fair to her or the show. The Fire Walk With Me clip here proves the old school theory that Jeffries was calling out Coop as a (future) doppelganger. The Fireman’s information seems tonhave changed Andy in some way, and the hosts think Bob/etc. is inside Sarah and she’s switching back and forth with the presence(s) rapidly. They guess a Laura-Sarah (open) Face Off is coming, Lissie is whatever, and they debate over how physical the upcoming battles will be.

Laura Palmer Is Dead covered Part Twelve. They liked the Jerry scene but had trouble wanting to spend time there when there are so many other characters to spend time with and so few hours left. And the hosts similarly feel plotlines are getting short changed by all the transitional scenes and musical numbers. Though they liked the French girl scene because she’s living life to the fullest (not because of any Lil code connections because they didn’t make any). “Our Audrey” wouldn’t be this timid, and the Roadhouse scene loses their attention.

The Lodgers Part 13 podcast guest is Seth Mnookin, writer, journalist and co-director of MIT’s Graduate Program in Science Writing. They see a level of parody in the ‘Mr C goes arm-wrestling’ scenes, and enjoy the impossibleness of the giant TV screen, seeing links to Inland Empire, but feel a little resentment that the warehouse took up a decent chunk of the episode. They make a connection between the dandruff on Tony’s shoulders and the starfield that Cooper fell through, but aren’t sure that it is an intentional reference by Lynch. They’re impressed by Dana Ashbrook and Everett McGill’s portrayal of lone male pathos, found it difficult to see Norma be ‘managed’ by her boyfriend, and also note Big Ed’s reflection having a life of it’s own. They can’t locate Audrey’s story in time, and feel that any of the theories about Audrey seem like they could be possible. The Audrey set design is old-fashioned, which lends further confusion, and they note Lynch seems interested in his imagery being open to interpretation and withholding answers deliberately. Frost however, seems to love mythos-building and storytelling and they postulate that Lynch likes to obscure the narrative, adding in surreal asides, stretching scenes and mutating the story with his own particular direction and vision. They don’t think that they’ll get much of an explanation as to how Part 8 links in with anything else, but do wonder if Sarah may turn out to be the fricket girl due to her odd behaviour and how her drinking seems to synchronize with the woodsman broadcast in Part 8. They’re not sure if the electrical sound glitch is coming from the room or elsewhere, but that it heightens the sense of discomfort about the scene. (Matt Armitage)

Peaked‘s Lynch fanboy and Lynch skeptic covered Parts Thirteen and Fourteen in two separate podcasts. In Part Thirteen, it seems Frost and Lynch are calling gangs nothing but posturing and childishness, Anthony’s confession scene was purposely poorly scripted for some reason but it worked somehow, time is officially shown out of order, dementia is likely Audrey’s issue, and James’ roadhouse scene is the greatest troll ever. The Fuscos Cooper-Fingerprint red herring was a personal affront and the hosts wonder if red herrings EVER work. They also ask why the chronology needs to be out of order (they don’t think it does) especially when time is important to create stakes. Instead time can cram in previous events that feel like a deus ex machina just because time hasn’t unfolded the way we think it has, AND it creates pacing issues. They found Part Fourteen to be a barnstormer and they both loved it. The Blue Rose explanation was fun for an exposition dump, the Vegas FBI chief only hit the table once and the shot was reversed for the extra hits, and fuck Chad! They assumed the portal near Naido had garmonbozia in it, Andy becoming useful with the White Lodge is NICE, and the hosts love how no one remembers a thing yet Andy remembers AND knows his purpose. The hum by the furnaces is the same as in the Great Northern. The flicking tongue in Sarah’s spirit creature is probably the frog/roach’s, that Drunk is Billy, and there was a lot of telling rather than showing for such a great episode. Plot always comes in second to intuitive moments, and if Lynch was trained (rather than self-taught) he’d have the discipline to fix the couple of simple technical issues that were present here.

The Red Room Podcast put out an episode where Josh had a conversation with his 14 year-old son about the show up until now. His son loves it, is hip-deep in trying to figure it out, and the two of them talk through issues based on Josh’s Skeleton Key (a formula/graph that shows scenes and character appearances by percentages, a sabermetric way to watch what’s happened in the show) which shows what’s really important by taking away the obfuscations. Josh refers to the show as a constellation of metaphors, which I am totally stealing. His son likes the Return but prefers the original so far. They wonder if Sarah has schizophrenia because she swallowed the frog. The next podcast episode covered Parts Eleven through Thirteen with guest David Bushman. They think 30 years from now people will still think of the original series mostly. Scott thinks Sarah’s carrying Leland with her in the grocery store scene, Josh says Lynch and Frost are using nostalgia against us to obscure what’s really going on in the plot, Audrey’s captured and brainwashed, Laura wants to die was the original significance of the Owl Ring, and they all agree that The Return was made for story reasons, not nostalgia. This podcast was way more philosophical about the experience rather than an episode recap.

Sparkwood & 21 covered Part Fourteen followed by a listener feedback episode. Lucy’s Cabo vacation brought to mind Andy’s rolex in that it’s VERY EXPENSIVE, and then they talk about shadow selves in relation to Lois Duffy. They talk through how Diane could’ve helped with the creation of Dougie whether it was with DoppelCooper or she helped Jeffries do it. They also wonder if Diane’s working straight for the Fireman. They expected Naido to be Josie, and Andy got picked because he’s pure of heart. The Fireman is definitely marshalling his forces and they wonder if Jeffries is his middleman. Time distortions are assumed, Sparkle is amplifying the problem, and Freddy is connected to Nightmare On Elm Street because of his name and dream glove (that might need to bust down the door in Part Three). And if everything ends up being a dream it’s all essentially real because that’s all they have. There’s energy and momentum now and the hosts love it. In the Feedback episode, one feedbacker said Freddy’s glove could be used to crush the owl ring. The hosts loved it and wondered if that happened, would the whole show be reset, to a point where they’d have lived their lives without any influence whatsoever of the owl ring and the lodges. They’re not serious about it but was a fun exploration. There’s a ton more great feedback here per usual but that stuck out for me.

The hosts at There Will Be Drinking Recaps Twin Peaks are in love with the show as of Part Thirteen and they praise it for having so many ridiculous useful scenes. They want a happy/positive ending for Poopy Coopy, and gave him this dialogue when Renzo’s gang asked him if he’s ready to arm wrestle: “I’m John Snow, I literally died. I’m ready.” They think of recasting David Bowie with Jemaine Clement and/or scenes from Labyrinth, and decide who better to next wrestle with DoppelCooper than Nadine. They found an old-school clip of Russ Tamblyn that got them fangirling hard, and they were genuinely concerned when they asked what is going on with that Audrey scene. In Part Fourteen, they noticed SO MUCH FBI EQUIPMENT in that first room, debate Diane’s level of culpability, and wonder if Diane was involved in Dougie’s creation. They wonder if the Jeffries scene in FWWM happened or didn’t happen, and about the Chad scene said this: “too much to do, arrest Chad, done.” Andy saw a “previously, on Twin Peaks” segment of which the Lucy and telephone pole bits were crazy intriguing, drugs might be making multiple realities possible, and Andy’s an American hero, a keyholder and a good soul. Naido was making mumblecore noises, and the Sarah scene was the BEST. Truck driver is THAT guy and totally earned his fate (they liked Lynch being on the ptjer side of the male gaze for a change), and Sarah’s a bad ass. They like the Roadhouse soap opera sidebars and are convinced these are the people Audrey was talking about. They think Tammy (not their favorite character) will crack this whole case before the end.

Time For Cherry Pie and Coffee (a subheading of the Time For Cakes and Ales podcast) published no less than three episodes this week – keeping us all on our toes. The first was an interview with author and journalist Seth Mnookin (NB: recorded before Part 14 aired), who began by discussing his love of Twin Peaks and how thrilled he felt to be living through The Return in real-time. He described the show as “a gift” and said it constantly surprised him. It will be very different for those in the future who binge-watch without a week between episodes. The show would be overwhelming to consume in one sitting, but thrilling to watch over two days in an arthouse cinema. His personal highlights so far have been Part 8 and the ongoing sense that intense scrutiny from viewers will be rewarded. He loves finding references to other film, TV and Lynch’s own work. He praised the nuanced and deep performances by the cast, especially Grace Zabriskie, Catherine Coulson and Kyle MacLachlan. The show has forced fans to realise you cannot go back and rehash what went before, he said. 25 years have passed and the old characters and familiar scenarios would not have worked. At this stage, he wouldn’t be disappointed if we don’t see the old Cooper back at all. Mnookin described his theory that Jeffries may well actually be MIKE and shared thoughts about Cooper, wondering whether Dougie-Cooper and Mr. C could exist in the same time and place. He noted the appearance of actress Candy Clark in the show, who also appeared in the David Bowie film ‘The Man Who Fell To Earth’ – this indicated porous boundaries between fictional universes and real world in Twin Peaks, he mused. The non-linear structure of the narrative has been confirmed since Pt 13, he felt. Mnookin was curious as to Mark Frost’s input into, and reaction to, this aspect- recognising that this might be misjudging the Lynch/Frost working relationship. There was discussion about time jumps, outfit changes and possible explanations from the prosaic to the far-fetched. Simultaneously both could be happening, he thought. It could be significant in some areas of the show and incidental in others. Mnookin felt the series seems to comment accurately on present day society, even aspects that wouldn’t have existed when they wrote the script or began filming. The absence of hope feels attuned to the current climate in a way that would have been impossible to predict. “That’s something that happens with great art – it ends up reflecting society in ways that it did not set out to do consciously,” he said. He talked about a pervading sense of loneliness – felt in Diane, Sarah Palmer, Big Ed – a theme about the difficulty of forming meaningful connections. Not totally absent though – the Mitchum brothers’ bond seems warm and close. The series seemed to be contemplating mortality, he felt. And the urgency to form a connection before leaving this life. Mnookin felt the relationship between Albert and Gordon mirrored the real-world closeness of Lynch and Ferrer. He wondered what is going on with Sarah Palmer – mused that she might be a ‘lightning rod’ for dark forces. Felt there was something wrong in the Palmer house – the fan acts as a harbinger of doom. He noted the fan and the swirling sky vortex seemed visually linked. His only disappointment with the show so far was that Sheryl Lee had not been featured more. He felt her performance in Fire Walk With Me showed such depth and range, that it would have been amazing to see more of her in The Return. Mnookin said the show now exists in a “transcendental meditation space” – beyond expectations. He will be sad when it ends and he can no longer be part of this community experiencing and discussing the show in real time. He was confident that whatever happens, the climax of The Return would be incredible, remarkable and thought-provoking. “It has completely taken us outside what we wanted to happen,” he said. “It’s more than we could have asked for.” The second “Slice of Pie” episode was recorded live at WorldCon 75 sci-fi convention in Helsinki (NB: recorded before Part 14 aired). The podcast began with an interview with British sci-fi author Chris Butler. He reminisced about watching the original run of Twin Peaks, back in 1990, saying he was “very quickly smitten” with the show. He watched with friends every week – not something he has done for any other programme before or since. His jaw dropped when he heard the show was coming back, he said – especially learning both Lynch and Frost were on board. He was impressed by how daring The Return has been, describing it as “fearless”. The show isn’t pandering to executives, Butler had a sense they were allowed to do what they wanted and didn’t hold back. The humour and dialogue are extraordinary, he said, noting the show is still quintessentially Twin Peaks, despite the fact they’ve got rid of some of the soap opera parody. His standout new characters were Janey-E and Diane and he had enjoyed Cooper’s escape from the Lodge, as well as the “incredible” Part 8. He said that part was a spectacle like 2001: A Space Odyssey – but to see it on TV was completely unexpected. Butler has enjoyed the small moments – Cooper’s first cup of coffee, Gordon Cole’s deadpan humour, Janey-E’s scenes, Lucy and Andy’s chair debate. Some of the violent sequences, he said, have been very intense and hard to watch, especially the hit and run scene. He hasn’t enjoyed the Roadhouse music performances, felt like they undermine the drama. He noted some remarkable performances, especially Grace Zabriskie. He suggested that discussion of what elements would make up each episode came at the editing stage, noting some scenes seemed out of place but that it worked well as an episodic series. It is nice to get an hour a week and have time to reflect, he felt. He hoped the show would have an impact on future TV and film. People will be inspired by it, he said. Looking ahead, Butler hoped for a satisfying ending – not necessarily “wrapped up with a bow”. He felt there is potential for some popular characters to be killed off – perhaps Dr Jacoby (unless Nadine rescues him with her super-strength!) He thought Cooper’s journey echoed Homer’s Odyssey – a long journey home, but hard to see what his ending will be – even if he comes back to his own mind, his former life will be gone. Perhaps he has a future with Janey-E? Butler said he was excited to see where the show would go next, hoping to see some “human interaction” between Laura and other characters. It would be good to see more of Leland as well. “Even 10 mins from the end we won’t have a clue what’s coming,” he said “And maybe that’s what is so exciting about the show.” The second WorldCon 75 interview was with Scottish author Neil Williamson, who began by enthusing about his love for The Return: “I’ve not felt this way about a TV series for years,” he said. Williamson was interested to see how stories set up in the original run are handled by Lynch and Frost in the new series – he loved the fact they are doing something entirely new and challenging expectations, describing the show as “an artful tease”. He was excited but wary when he heard the show was returning, hoping we wouldn’t just see a rehash of old stories – so he was very happy with the way The Return has blended old and new, incorporating elements of Fire Walk With Me. Speaking about Sarah Palmer, he said there’s a strong sense her life has not moved on since the horrific events of the original series. He explored a theory that the entire town is ‘time-stranded’, in stasis, not moving on – examples included Sarah, Big Ed, the extended sweeping scene. His only disappointment with The Return is that he’d like more than 18 hours. He said he expected resolution before the end though, even if some elements are not fully explained. Asked if the show had inspired him, the author said it hadn’t, but that he was already in a good place creatively, finishing edits on a new novel, with a clean slate ahead and plenty of ideas he wants to explore. He’s not coming to Twin Peaks as an author, but as a fan, loving the performances, the stories, the cameos and the transcendent beauty of Part 8. Considering the legacy of the show, Williamson hoped it would inspire studios to take more risks, allowing people to be artistically brave, to be dangerous. The Return is “the most risk-taking thing I’ve seen in any medium for a long time,” he concluded. (Mat Cult)

AfterBuzz’s Twin Peaks After Show covered Part Fourteen where Sam mentions she called Sarah being taken over by an alien. The hosts don’t trust Tammy but DO Diane. They’re for the half sister connection to Janey, think the Belucci dream is proof Audrey is in a dream, and the Roadhouse scenes aren’t necessarily real either. Andy’s good of heart, which is why he was selected by the Fireman. How are the guys not taken aback by Naido’s monkey sounds? Freddy’s got a super hero hand, timelines are starting to unify, and Billy’s the drunk in jail while Audrey’s in a dream.

Twin Peaks Peeks covered Part Fourteen with guest Joel Bocko. Joel started with his general take on the show (at its center a story of abuse and an underlying spiritual message) and Lynch and Frost’s dynamic. They talked about Tulpa as a Tibetan Buddhist concept misinterpreted by western theosophists, as well as an interesting spin on the Good Cooper/DoppelCooper dynamic. The Belucci dream switch to FWWM-Cole was SO surprising. The concepts of destabilization of self and non-dualistic Hinduism are Lynch’s own spiritual beliefs, and the show is all about how the self relates to the whole. Andy was the only one to forgo the meat and focus on the pure cheese of consciousness (a joke) and also remembered to put soil in pockets and held Naido’s hand so he was chosen, which also felt grail mythology appropriate. They wonder why Naido needed to be naked, and the scene felt a lot like the original Laura scene. Talk of Freddy as a superhero got the hosts talking about Laura’s agency. The Sarah scene was great commentary on catcalling etc, and Top of The Lake had a similarly effective scene. Sarah’s agency is being explored here too, and if that frog moth was in her for her entire life it needs to be explored more. Is there vampirism or a primal place of being involved with Sarah’s current state?

The Twin Peaks Podcast covered Parts Thirteen and Fourteen in separate podcasts. Part Thirteen had guest trivia champion Spencer. They call out haphazard editing because they’re not into asynchronous storytelling. The Gym set scene reminded Spencer of a Blue Velvet dog scene, and they’re not sure if Janey-E’s real or pretending who she is. DoppelCooper’s hands are corpse-gray, Jeffries is probably an imposter, Richard Horne HAS to be DoppelCooper’s son, no guesses on Dougie’s attraction to dandruff, and to Ed and Norma: “screw it, you’ve both wasted your lives.” Spencer thinks scenes like Sarah watching boxing are a gift, meanwhile Matt wants stakes, character and plot. Only Spencer is invested in The Return. Everyone else just sees cold sterility and lacking warmth. Part Fourteen had their guest reddit moderator Sam. They mention how after Lynch and Frost’s script was turned in to Showtime, Frost went on to write Secret History of Twin Peaks while Lynch continued to write scenes for The Return. They called the new person re-recording Bowie’s lines Lucassing, and found it bizarre how much plot revolved around Jeffries and Briggs. Where are the owls? They poked at Andy for not hunting down that truck owner episodes ago, wonder where the Lucy part of the White Lodge clue movie was set, declared “Mark Frost strikes again” about the Fireman and his new name, and wondered what Sarah’s point was to pretend she was shocked by the dead man’s neck if she was going to get all cold and sarcastic right after. They discuss Sabrina Sutherland’s comments about the disenfranchised fans getting a payoff at the end of the 18 Parts, and they say it can’t be worth it if the first 14 Parts have been as awkward as they were. And Brad continues to attack fans who “blindly” love the show in the feedback section. It was less mean spirited this week but just as disenfranchised.

Twin Peaks: The ReturnFilm critic Sarah Ward joined regular hosts Andy and Hayley again for Part 14. Sarah felt that this part was the best put together: satisfying and intriguing. Andy saw this as a very “Frostian” episode and that while there were definite Lynchian moments, Frost’s masterful storytelling could be seen throughout. On the subject of Diane, both Andy and Hayley disagree with the “Diane is evil” theory and feel there is a lot more going on there – Andy believes that Diane is telling the truth about Janey E. Sarah feels that Janey E, like Dougie, has not always been there and she questions what her purpose is – possibly that it could be the same purpose as Dougie. There was some conjecture that this is a convenient way to get two of Lynch’s strongest actors facing off against each other and both Hayley and Sarah are keen to see this, hoping they yell at each other a lot. Speaking of yelling, Andy’s pick for funniest scene of The Return so far is the FBI office scene with Agent Headley: “This is what we do in the F.B.I.!!!” The team loved that it was Deputy Andy that the White Lodge chose to speak to and that Harry Goaz’s face was gorgeous in the Black and White sequence, the way that he quietly takes things in was noted by Hayley as a wonderful character trait that Andy has always possessed and Sarah noted that there is no cynicism in him whatsoever, which marks him as different to all the other men in the sheriff’s department. Hayley was unsettled (as she had been in Part 3) by Naido, a woman with her senses taken away, and this time nude, and she hopes that Naido has an important role to play rather than just being a cipher. Sarah suggested that while she absolutely understands where Hayley is coming from, she feels that with Lynch and the way he portrays women, representation does not necessarily equal endorsement. None of the team were fond of the Freddie/James scene and Andy felt it was a massive tonal shift as well as very dodgy from a dialogue sense in Freddie’s overly clichéd ‘Dick Van Dyke’ Britishisms. However, they were all massive fans of the Sarah bar scene and, as Hayley noted, this is a moment that every single woman has lived through. Sarah (Ward, not Palmer) owns a copy of Lynch’s artwork Head No. 2 (which he used in the face-off sequence) and screamed when she saw it onscreen. Andy wondered if this scene is proof that Sarah is impersonating the animals she has been watching on her television. There were two theory fish this week: firstly, that the girl who swallowed the bug was Lois (the woman at the centre of the first Blue Rose case). Hayley felt that the bug swallowing scene is too iconic to not be revisited, so she’s withholding judgement and Sarah likes the theory that the girl is Sarah Palmer more. Andy is on board with it being Lois. The other theory (which went a bit over my head) suggested that there was a link between the Lodge denizens and the dreamscape: to the end that Twin Peaks is entirely a dream. Both Hayley and Sarah felt that this would be a cop-out and minimize the importance of dreams in Twin Peaks if the whole thing was nothing but a dream. (Yvette Giles)

Twin Peaks Rewatch covered Parts Thirteen and Fourteen in separate podcasts. In Part Thirteen, The Return admits responsibility for any time questions, and everyone’s stuck in their cycles, possibly since Laura’s murder distorted reality, the only question left is is this part of plot or part of themes. They bring up Swan Lake’s thematic connections, how Lynch and Frost’s trolling us is when we’re supposed to be going along with a joke. They note how Lynch pushes actors to their edge to get distressing//hysterical and funny/sad vibes. The arm wrestling scene is SO absurd, naive and incredibly intense, violent and menacing, which is Lynch’s sensibilities in a nutshell. Norma chooses bad men like her mom did, Sarah doesn’t care that time’s messed up and continues to watch creatures beating the hell out of each other, Charlie is blatantly suppressing Audrey, and Cooper needs one of NORMA’s pies to come back. (John Bernardy) Twin Peaks Rewatch coverage of episode 14 is mostly praise, with some reservations. Hosts Chris and Jake see pieces of all previous seasons and FWWM in one jam-packed episode. They are continually frustrated by the lack of information sharing between investigators, from Gordon Cole’s phone call with Truman to his call to the Las Vegas FBI office. They also express apprehension over the Diane/Janey-E revelation, fearful that everything may be too neatly related. They delight in the absurd bits, such as the egregiously loud window washer and overwrought Las Vegas FBI agent. They express their gratefulness for Gordon Cole’s massive screen time, offering that Lynch’s season 3 Cole is proof that Lynch “clearly loves this shit.” The hosts return to the show’s Arthurian theme, explaining that Andy possess the proper character to be the “one” to enter the Zone, then spend time on Freddie’s accent. Sarah Palmer’s scene was also praise with reservations–the hosts worry what the implications of her face-removing, throat-eating behavior could be for the history of the character. However, they praise Grace Zabriskie’s multifaceted performance. They question what the Tina/Billy revelation could mean for Audrey at the Roadhouse scene, and run out of time for reader mail, clocking in their longest podcast yet, at just over 1 hour and 20 minutes. (Kimberly Shotick)

Twin Peaks Unwrapped – Still love that the intro music to their podcast is Sycamore Trees by DL, Angelo, and Jimmy Scott. Ben & Bryon are joined this week by Counter Esperanto podcast hosts Jubel and Karl. Part 14 – We are the Dreamer. All agree it was a fantastic episode. Felt like Part 8 but with our classic Twin Peaks characters. Felt that this Part would bring back callbacks for people to finally understand a bit more about what happened during Part 8. Starting with Gordon calling Lucy felt like another classic called back and all loved it. Karl thought it was funny with Gordon’s delay in responding to vacationing in Bora Bora, because it is possible that Gordon heard it as you’re boring. All discussed that when Sheriff Truman mentions the “Two Coopers” that he does not mention any of the other findings while finding that information, i.e. the key, Laura’s missing diary pages, and Jack Rabbit’s Palace. Questions once again arise about the order of the episodes in correlation to the whole story. Bounce back to Albert telling Tammy the Blue Rose story. When he mentions Gordon and Jefferies working together all those years ago such a great image to think about. All agree that it’s quite self-explanatory and a simple definition of the Blue Rose. Blue Rose is something that exists out of a nature, not of this world. They mention that John Horne (Wrapped in Plastic) has mentioned this many times before. Are we looking at the same scenario for Dougie Coop & Mr. C. that had fallen Lois Duffy the woman mentioned in the Blue Rose case? Definitely feel there is some foreshadowing with this information. Karl mentions the background of the word Tammy uses, tulpa, and how it means someone or a group could summon and create the image of a person. There is another word (Tulcou sp?) meaning holy man which calls into “We are all a part of the same dream.” All a part of the same illusion. In this line of thinking, Mr. C is the tulpa, he wants what he wants making steps to not have himself exorcised or trapped back in the Black Lodge. Deputy Diane shows up and gives the information about Mr. C. mentioning Major Briggs and Janey-E being her half-sister! All feel there are too many questions about this. Discussion about a big twist coming for Diane. At least hope for one, since we want to route for her. They also start a discussion about how technology and consciousness coincide especially in this world of Twin Peaks. The unreal nature of the window washer scene and Gordon’s hearing aids. FBI Vegas is called, Janey-E and Dougie, armed and dangerous. Why didn’t Diane just give them the information to go right to their house? FBI Vegas gave us a very anime like exaggerated emotion with his pounding fists and “this is what we do”, answer. This would be the point that the idea of the Detectives Fusco pulling prints off of Dougie Coop would come back to bite them. You can’t just pull prints, submit them to the FBI, and rip them up. Then we get Gordon’s beautiful Monica Bellucci Dream. The famous “We are the Dreamer” speech, but who is the dreamer. Is it Laura? Is it Cooper? Is it someone else? Maybe no single dreamer will be revealed. Karl says that Lynch/Frost are the ultimate dreamers, art is communication and that we in fact are the dreamers creating part of this story in our own minds. Back at the Sheriff station, Chad is arrested, for what? Karl comically says, “He’s arrested because he’s Chad.” Much love is shown for John Pirruccello. Then the trip to Jack Rabbit’s Palace. Beautiful to see these woods. Talk of Bobby now being a Bookhouse Boy. The similarities between Jack Rabbit’s Palace and the Fireman’s house in the White Lodge, can’t be just coincidence. Too close of a resemblance. Questions about the pool of gold liquid, the opposite of the scorched oil of the Black Lodge? Are the Woodsmen just a manifest of the Black Lodge or could they be like the Chalfonts/Tremonds and show no allegiances? The boys find Naido, who must of landed there when she feel above with Cooper in Part 3. So it this another sign that the Parts are out of order? Andy was chosen because he was the truest of heart. The Firemen showed him what he needed to see and he understood. None of the others would be so accepting and true of the information given them. More questions about what Andy saw, especially the Lucy scene. Future or past? Two Coopers. Laura surrounded by angels. That famous pole #6. How will all these visions figure into the next four parts? Who is Naido and how will she figure into the parts coming up? The scene where Andy returns and the Sheriff, Bobby, and Hawk walk like the Woodsmen, brings up a lot of questions. Time quake? Are different timelines collapsing on each other now to one specific timeline? Also it seems like we’re up for a showdown, Evil Woodsmen vs. Good Woodsmen. Chad, Naido, and Billy (?) are in the cells. Is the drunk/Billy on Sparkle? Is this drug making everyone see things? Brings up memories of the girl in the car with the green drool, with the drunk and his motor oil type drool. Hints of something bigger hitting Twin Peaks? Then comes the Great Northern and James and Freddie discussing his green glove. Freddie’s tail is like a “shaggy dog” tale, but we now it to be true because the Giant/???????/The Fireman exists. Karl thinks the green glove is hinting at Frost’s humor, not unlike Wally Brando. Then we go right to Sarah. The bar scene proves she can take care of herself, but with who’s help? The Experiment? Laura? When she rips her face off we see the hand with the blacked off ring finger, and the large toothy grin. Raises more questions definitely, but this story is so essential that we will see it, hopefully. Hoping that the next part goes with the key, Part 15 of Season 3. 315, Cooper’s hotel number on key. We’ll see if that holds any significance. (J.C.)

We’re Not Gonna Talk About Judy (subheading of the Another Kind of Distance Podcast) covered Parts Thirteen and Fourteen in separate podcasts. In Part Thirteen, the show was firmly in soap opera mode but will it last? Janey-E LOVES Dougie more and more, Anthony had the weirdest moral conversion ever spurred on by human touch and kindness, “Don’t call me a kid” was invoked in the arm wrestling scene, and Ray being cocky was consistent with his earlier portrayal. Nadine/Jacoby was a touching scene, maybe Audrey IS having a mental break, and Hutch and Chantelle are the most normal people on the show, Audrey’s always been Hollywood beautiful but she’s a weirdo off to the side with her own energy. They bring up my timequakes (though sell it as caused by electricity rather than vice versa) and don’t completely dismiss them, and if anything’s a fault line they think its the Palmer House or Audrey. In Part Fourteen, Lucy and Gordon weird each other out, an old Naomi Watts quote to Lynch about herself and Laura Dern is brought up: “make us sisters, or even rivals, we just want to work together.” They prove having never watched Firefly as they ask “Who the Hell is Monica Bellucci?” and were surprised the show leaned science fiction and super hero. They describe Naido’s voice as electrical crackle, and think Andy got picked because he comforted Naido (who gave them a Laura vibe). They notice Andy’s now decisive, that the Drunk is the hollow dark Dougie, and that the Fireman is now bestowing gifts on people. It’s the same Great Northern room hum where James was checking, and the hosts want to know how Sarah turned into that force. In some major ways theses are not the same characters anymore and it felt to them like a new writer took over a superhero book. The show’s ordering of chronology is discussed, as is Lynch’s tendency to film linearly and in editing take out anything that explicitly shows what’s going on for plot conveyance.

Wrapped In Podcast: They consider this episode peak Twin Peaks-y. Seems like it’s all coming together, but they have no idea how exactly. They opened the episode with a Roy Orbison cover of “In Dreams.” The hosts announce they are installing porthole TVs to rewatch the show in the future a la Andy in the White Lodge. Following last week’s Rancho Rosa credits discussion…they clarify that Part 13 was first appearance of the green ring, and this week added a faded out black ring which flashes completely black. This is like the traffic lights in the original, forever fixating, never achieving clarity. Listening post alpha is NOT the structure in the opening, as it’s revealed to be destroyed in Part 14. They love the opening Cole x Lucy scene, especially with the red traffic light. Mike talking to Lucy in original was similar to the insurance man scene. Everything is two people and doubles, even Bora Bora. Tammy scene recalls the Lil FWWM scene for them, with Tammy being such a weirdo robot. Tulpa is “a conjured being or object created through sheer spiritual or mental discipline.” Slenderman for example. Features heavy in Theosophy, Frost’s fav. Are there different types of Tulpas? Is BOB actually “just the evil that men do?” Nixon timing works out, he would have lost the ring before Lois Duffy got it. His resignation is actually in the TP universe, mentioned in Cooper’s Scott Frost written Diary book, mailing his Nixon paraphernalia back to the White House. Window washer like moon walker in pilot. They do not believe what Diane said about Janey-E at all, she’s leaving something out. Gordon doesn’t quote Bellucci exactly, similar with Coop’s dreams. Shooting style reminiscent of Fellini and Lynch’s 1996 Premonitions Following an Evil Deed short shot with Lumiere cameras. Cooper says the same thing to the Fireman “but who is the dreamer,” which is all part of an Upanishads quote Lynch used to intro Inland Empire when it was released. An actor revealed on Twitter that he dubbed Bowie’s voice, why? How many dreams are we actually watching in this sequence? They counted up to eight. Reminded them of Jean Renault telling Coop “maybe you brought the nightmare with you and maybe the nightmare will die with you.” They loved how calm everyone was when arresting Chad. Andy doesn’t wait in the car anymore. He was the only one NOT at the Briggs house or around when opening the canister, but he was chosen. Fireman did not want the cerebral, analytical, competent minds of Hawk/Truman, he wanted Andy’s pure, trusting mind. Last time Cooper took his message with much skepticism, but Andy took everything literally and acted unquestioning and immediately. “Gotta light” is only dialogue in sequence, could this be a reminder to Andy of Dick Tremayne’s usage of the phrase, and thereby a reminder that Dick is Wally Brando’s father? Andy’s authoritative speech was reminiscent of when he saved Truman in S1 finale. Treatment of Chad reminiscent of Andy to Albert in S1 also. Andy’s greatest hits. Chad and the drunk like Bobby and Mike barking at James in S1. The podcast parallels Freddie’s wandering night to Coop’s as detailed in Scott Frost’s Autobiography of Cooper. Freddie encountered good, but Coop found evil. Freddie Sykes is a Jack Kirby Marvel Comics character from the 60s. Did Mike have to cut off his arm in order for it to evolve? Did it actually turn into something good or did he cut if off because it was actually evil? Sarah Palmer’s coolness like Mr. C’s. (Sean Glass)